Support for curtains and draperies



March 6, 1962 H. RENNER; ETAL 0 I SUPPORT FOR CURTAINS AND DRAPERIES Filed May 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 5

INVENTOR. eoooscu. H. RENNER FIG. 4 DIANA A. WESSELS ATTORNEY G. H. RENNER ETAL 3,023,450 7 SUPPORT FOR CURTAINS AND DRAPERIES v March 6, 1962 Filed May 12 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H 114- II K 1 HM, ii 80 +8 74 v FIG. 7

IN V EN TOR.

eoobssu. H. RENNER D lANA A. WESSELS ATTORNEY FIG, 9

3,@Z3,45 Patented Mar. 5, 1962 3,023,450 SUPPORT FUR CURTAINS AND DRAPERIES Goodsell H. Renner and Diana Antonie Wessels, both of 1516 Plainiield Drive, Ellrhart, Ind. Filed May 12, 1959, Ser. No. 812,693 4 (Ilaims. (Cl. 1687.6)

The present invention relates to curtain or drapery fixtures and more particularly to a combination curtain or drapery fixture and rod or valance for pull draperies and curtains.

In conventional pull drapery fixtures, specially made rods with pull cords are used and if valances are desired, they must be added over the rods. These pull cords tend to become twisted, soiled, worn and unsightly requiring periodic restringing, which necessitates removal and replacement of the rods which are usually permanently installed at the windows. The alternative to this type of pull curtains has been ring type fixtures on a conventional rod, the curtains being pulled open or shut by grasping the side of the curtain itself and pulling. Since the rings tend to become caught against each other and do not slide readily on the rods, an undue amount of wear is caused by tugging at the curtains. Again with this type of fixture, if valances are desired, they must be superimposed on and separate from the rods. It is therefore a principal object of our invention to provide a hook fixture for curtains or draperies in combination with a special type of rod which eliminates the need 'for pull cords and yet slides so easily that there is no undue wear from pulling the curtains or draperies, and which can be combined as an integral unit with valances,

It is a further object of our invention to provide a combination curtain fixture and rod which can be installed flush with the window frame so that glass curtains, for example, will hang within the window frame instead of an inch or so in front of the window as with conventional fixtures and rods.

Still another object is to' provide rods and fixtures for delicate fabrics which enable the curtains to be pulled open or closed without damaging the curtains.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination curtain and drapery fixture and valance as an integral unit which will accommodate either curtains or draperies or both curtains and draperies and in which the curtains and/or draperies can easily be pulled open or closed.

Still another object is to provide rods or valances of the foregoing type in combination with freely rolling hook fixtures which can be installed, removed or replaced without necessitating removal of the rods or valances.

A further object of the invention is to provide a freely rolling hook fixture for curtains or draperies, in which the actual hook may be of different sizes suitable for a variety of materials used for the curtains or draperies.

Another object is to provide hook fixtures which may be used in combination with a valance so that more than one size hook may be used in the valance runners to accommodate draperies and curtains of different weights of material, e.g. small hooks for glass curtains nearest the window and larger hooks for draperies on the side adjacent the interior walls of the room. 7

Additional object-s and advantages will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a curtain rod and hooks assembled thereon illustrating one embodiment of the present invention and mounted on a window frame;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the curtain rod and window frame taken on line 22 of FIG- URE 1 and an elevational view of one of the hooks and support therefor;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the curtain rod, window frame and hook support shown in the preceding figures taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross sectional View of the hook and hook support shown in the preceding figures taken on line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIUUKE 5 is a top plan view of the hook support shown in the preceding figures;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational View of a combination valance and curtain or drapery rod with the hooks assembled therein illustrating another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a view of the under side of the valance and curtain rod combination with the hooks removed;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical cross sectional view of the valance and curtain rod combination shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, taken on line 88 of FIGURE 7 and showing the hooks and support therefor in operating position;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational View of one of the hook supports shown in FIGURE 8 mounted in its track; and

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the hook support shown in FIGURE 9.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to the embodiment of the invention disclosed in FIGURES 1 through 5, numeral 12 designates a rod having mounted therein a plurality of fixtures 14 with depending hooks l6 and being mounted on the upper portion of a window frame 18 by two spaced brackets 20 and 22. The rod may be mounted in any suitable manner either directly to the window frame as shown in FIGURE 1 or on special brackets holding the rod away from the frame either laterally or downwardly from the frame. The rod 12 consists of a metal body having a generally inverted U-shaped cross section with sides 24 and 26 joined integrally to the top 28 and having inward and upward extensions forming parallel tracks 30 and '32 for fixtures 14. Internal flanges 34 and 36 are preferably provided on the inner edge of tracks 30 and 32, respectively, to retain the fixtures on the tracks, and, as seen in FIGURE 2, the flanges with the tracks form distinct channels with a space therebetween in which the fixtures move. In most installations the rod would be a one piece continuous member extending from one side of the window to the other, although on particularly wide windows the rod may consist of sections butted together at their ends to provide a smooth joint between the tracks of the adjoining rods.

Each fixture 14 is adapted to be mounted on'tracks 30' and 32 and consists of a pair of wheels 40' and 42 rolling along the two tracks journalled on a shaft 44 and held thereon by enlarged ends 46 and 48 of the shaft. The shaft bridges the space between the two tracks and sup? ports hook l6 suspended from the center of the shaft and extending downwardly substantially below the bottom of the rod for receiving the upper part of border of a curtain or drapery. The hook may be any desired length and either the type designed for receiving rings or clips attached to the curtain or drapery or the type having a sharp prong design to extend through the fabric of the curtain or drapery such as those shown in FIGURE 8. A member 50 for stabilizing the hook and holding it in the correct position is also mounted on shaft 44 and consists of a generally oval or round shaped band 52 having a slot 54 through which the hook extends and a pair of ears 5'6 and 58 formed integrally with opposite edges of the upper part of band 52 and having aligned holes for receiving shaft 44. Member 50 retains the upper portion of the hook in the center of shaft 44' and prevents the hook from twisting or tilting from one side to the other in the space between the tracks.

When the rod is being installed in the manner previ- 3 ously described herein, the fixtures 14 are slid into place on tracks 3!) and 32 from the open ends of the rod. After the rod has been secured in place to the upper part of the window frame 18 by brackets 20 and 22 using screws 60 and 62, curtains or draperies are hung on hooks 16 at spaced intervals along the rod. The curtains or draperies hung in this manner can be easily pulled to their open and closed position by merely pulling gently on the advanced edge of the material thereby causing wheels 40 and 42 to roll along tracks 30 and 32. Since very little effort or force is required to move the fixtures along the tracks, the curtains or draperies are not ripped or otherwise damaged by frequent opening and closing operations.

In the modified form illustrated in FIGURES 6 through the rod in effect has been combined with a valance to provide a compact and attractive curtain and drapery supporting structure 68. This combination consists of a top panel 70 having longitudinal channels 72, 74 and 76, channels 72 and 74 extending to a point near the center of the valance but overlapping each other to permit the draperies supported by the fixtures in the channels to be slightly overlapped when they are fully closed. Channel 76 is included to permit curtains to be hung between the draperies and the window without the necessity of in stalling an additional rod for them. If desired, the groove for the ctu'tain may be eliminated, leaving only the grooves for the draperies, and grooves for the draperies may be connected to form a single groove similar to groove 76.

The shape of grooves 72, 74 and 76 is clearly seen in FIGURES 8 and 9, each consisting of a slot 80 and enlarged internal portions 82 and 84 forming tracks 86 and 83 for a plurality of fixtures 90. These fixtures consist of a pair of hemispherically shaped wheels 92 and 94 rotatably connected by a shaft 96 rigidly secured to the center of each wheel. A book 98 with an eye ltltl around shaft 96 is suspended therefrom projecting downwardly through slot 80 and having an upwardly extending prong 102 for receiving the upper margin of the draperies or curtains. Other types of means in place of the prongs may be used in attaching the curtains or draperies to the hooks, and in the appended claims the term hook is intended to mean and include any type of attaching or securing means, whether hook-shaped or not.

Since the ends 104 and 106 of the valance would normally be against the wall around the window frame or against the window frame enlarged openings 108, 109, lit and 111 are preferably provided near the ends of the three grooves to facilitate insertion of fixtures 90 in channels 72, 74 and 76. After being inserted in the channels, the fixtures are prevented from falling through the opening by a suitable stop means in the channel in front of the openings or by a plug in each hole such as peg 112. A skirt 114 suitable for any particular scheme of room decoration is joined to and extends downwardly from the edge of panel 70 facing the room, and the valance is secured to the wall above or on either side of the window with a bracket (not shown).

When the valance of the present embodiment has been installed and the curtains and draperies have been hung on the fixtures, the draperies and curtains can be easily pulled between open and closed positions without danger of damaging them. The hemispherically shaped wheels 92 and 94 maintain the hooks in proper position for easy rolling along the respective tracks with very little effort required to maneuver the curtains and draperies to the desired position.

While only two embodiments of the present rod and fixtures have been described in detail herein, various changes in construction and design may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A rod and fixture combination for draperies and curtains, comprising an elongated rod member defining a generally inverted U-shaped channel, tracks disposed on each side of said channel near the lower edge and being spaced from one another, flanges along each track extending upwardly and inwardly into the space between said tracks, means for securing said rod means to a supporting structure thereabove, a fixture for supporting draperies and/or curtains including a pair of wheels for said tracks, a shaft between said wheels and having said wheels journalled on opposite ends thereof, a hook journalled on said shaft and extending downwardly through the space between said tracks to receive the draperies and/or curtains, a generally oval-shaped band around said shaft and spaced therefrom and having a slot in the lower portion thereof for receiving said hook, and downwardly extending members connected to said band on opposite sides at the top thereof and being journalled on said shaft.

2. A rod and fixture combination for draperies and curtains, comprising a rod member defining a generally inverted U-shaped channel, tracks disposed on each side of said channel near the lower edge and being spaced from one another, flanges along each track extending upwardly and inwardly into the space between said tracks, a fixture for supporting draperies and/ or curtains including a pair of wheels of said tracks, a shaft between said wheels and having said wheels journalled on opposite ends thereof, a hook suspended from said shaft and extending downwardly through the space between said tracks to receive the draperies and/or curtains, a band around said shaft and spaced therefrom and having a slot in the lower portion thereof for receiving said hook, and downwardly extending members connected to said band on opposite sides at the top thereof and being journalled on said shaft.

3. A rod and fixture combination for draperies and curtains, comprising a rod member defining a generally inverted U-shaped channel, tracks disposed on each side of said channel near the lower edge and being spaced from one another, a fixture for supporting draperies and/or curtains including a shaft between said wheels and having said wheels journalled on opposite ends thereof, a hook suspended from said shaft and extending downwardly through the space between said tracks to receive the draperies and/or curtains, a band around said shaft and having a slot in the lower portion thereof for receiving said hook for holding said band in spaced relation to said shaft, and downwardly extending members connected to said band at the top thereof and being journalled on said shaft.

4. A rod and fixture combination for draperies and curtains, comprising a means having a longitudinally arranged channel facing downwardly, track means disposed on each side of said channel near the lower edge and being spaced from one another, a fixture for supporting draperies and/or curtains and including a pair of wheels for said tracks, a shaft between said wheels, a hook suspended from said shaft and extending downwardly through the space between said tracks to receive the draperies and/ or curtains, a generally O-Shaped band around said shaft and having a slot in the lower portion thereof for receiving said hook, and downwardly extending members connected to said band on opposite sides at the top thereof and being journalled on said shaft for holding said band in spaced relation to said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,249,972 Kurtz D80. 11, 1917 1,490,322 Hofiman Apr. 15, 1924 1,545,850 Ruebel July 14, 1925 1,661,137 Furlong Feb. 28, 1928 2,653,656 Kuebler Sept. 29, 1953 2,715,966 Tieck Aug. 23, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 587,968 Germany Nov. 10, 1933 814,774 Germany Sept. 24, 1951 

